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PNS Daily Newscast - March 21, 2019

The nation’s acting Defense Secretary is under investigation for promoting Boeing, his former employer. Also on the Thursday rundown: The Trump administration’s spending blueprint being called a “bully budget.” Plus, a call for the feds to protect consumers from abusive lenders.

Events Around U.S. Mark "Citizens United" 5th Anniversary

PHOTO: People and organizations around the United States are planning events today (Wed.), the fifth anniversary of a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling that increased some political campaign donation limits. Photo courtesy of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

January 21, 2015

CARSON CITY, Nev. - Protest events are planned around the nation today to mark the fifth anniversary of the Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling removed limits on the amount of money an independent organization can spend on political campaigns.

The result, said Stephen Spaulding, policy counsel for the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause, is that millionaires and billionaires have greater influence over elections at every level of government.

"We're calling on everyone in Nevada to make their voices clear," he said, "to speak out, to tell their congressional delegation, to tell members of the Statehouse, that they are watching them, that they are sick and tired of the undue influence of corporate money in our politics - of super-PACs, of secret money from special interests - dictating policy."

Spaulding said a new report from Common Cause shows donations from secret sources to activist organizations have influenced issues that range from minimum wage and gun control to climate change and having an open Internet.

Political campaign spending from undisclosed sources topped $170 million in 2014, and was more than $300 million during the 2012 presidential election.

"And we're well over $500 million," he said, "in money that is untraceable, that has been dumped into our elections, that otherwise likely would not have been spent - but for Citizens United."

Spaulding said the impact of Citizens United could be reduced or even eliminated with tougher disclosure laws for independent campaign spending. He said he also thinks lawmakers should support a constitutional amendment giving Congress and the states the power to regulate campaign spending and require full disclosure of its sources.